Radio Feud Sparks Assault Charges

VIRGINIA BEACH — An apparent scuffle between the staffs of rival radio stations last weekend resulted in warrants being issued against two WNOR-FM (98.7) employees.

WNOR program director Harvey Kojan has been charged with assaulting William Russ, said Virginia Beach police spokesman Lou Thurston, and WNOR promotions assistant William Fiveash has been charged with assaulting Tammy McClanahan.

Russ and McClanahan are employees of WROX-FM (96.1) and WKOC-FM (93.7). Teresa Paluszak, a third WROX/WKOC employee, also claims Kojan assaulted her, according to her lawyer, Robert Morecock.

The alleged incident took place at about 1 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of a Kmart store in Virginia Beach when the three WROX/WKOC employees showed up at a WNOR promotional event.

"We sent some people down there to check out their crowd, and they went ballistic," says WROX/WKOC owner Bob Sinclair, whose station sent out a press release about the incident.

"No attack took place," said WNOR General Manager Jeff Scarpelli. "The substance of the press release is baseless."

In recent months, the two stations have locked horns over programming and personalities.

WKOC recently changed to the identical rock format played at WNOR, and a slander case is making its way through the Virginia Beach Circuit Court.

WNOR disc jockey Tommy Griffiths is suing ex-partner Henry Del Toro, who now anchors the morning show on WROX, and other WROX employees. Griffiths charges that Del Toro and co-host Perry Stone repeatedly called Griffiths a drug addict on the air.